A difficult Ending
by IonlyLoveMe
Summary: She heard him chuckle slightly as she filled the big mug.“Did you go to Chilton?” He asked. Yeah, I did, how’d you know?”“I went there too.”TRORY!
1. Chapter 1

A Difficult Ending

Chapter one: The customer

----

"Rory, you've got a break in ten minutes."

"Alright." She grabbed the rag from under the counter and started to wipe the counter clean, when a customer appeared.

"I would like a mocha cappuccino."

"Sure thing." She turned away without even bothering to glance up.

She heard him chuckle slightly as she filled the big mug.

"Did you go to Chilton?" He asked.

"Yeah, I did, how'd you know?"

"I went there too."

She turned around, a smile on her face. "Really, wha-" she stopped, her mouth slack. "Tristan?"

He nods "Good to see you Rory."

"Wow." She hands him his coffee. "You look…" her eyes roved over him, if anything he was even better looking than he had been in high school. "Really good."

He smirked. "So do you." He gave her the money for his coffee. "Would you like to go to dinner tonight?" he gripped his coffee nervously, "catch up on each others happenings?"

"That would be great." She glances up at the clock, "I'm going on break right now if you want to go sit down I'll be out in a second."

"Sure."

A moment later she was sitting across from him at a booth by the window.

They sat in awkward silence for a short moment before Tristan looked up from his mug. "I have so many things to say to you." He smiled. "I just don't know what order to put it all in."

"You could start by telling me why you never actually asked me out at Chilton. You knew Dean and I had broken up for good."

"Stupidity I guess."

"Is something wrong Tristan?" she looked around. "For a beautiful Saturday morning in New York you seem troubled."

He shakes his head. "No, I just have a lot on my mind."

She peers into his strikingly blue eyes, searching for answers that weren't there. "Why didn't you ever write me?"

"I thought you deserved better than what I could give." He took a sip of his coffee. "I thought you were going to be a journalist."

"I am, for the New York Times. But I work here on the weekends, I like this place."

He smirked. "Or is it because you have no other way to spend your time? How could a stunning Gilmore in her prime not be dating, married, or engaged to a strapping young lad?"

"Strapping?" she laughed. "I kind of like being single, I've learned that all the guys here are only in a relationship to get something. And I was never a fan of things like that."

"I know." He laughed. It gave her goose bumps. She had forgotten what he could do to her; his laugh could make her heart skip beats.

"I missed you Tristan."

His mug halted its path to his lips. He places the nearly empty cup on the table. This was the first time words had ever failed him in front of a woman.

She glanced at the clock. "I need to get back to work. If you still want to go out to dinner tonight, I get off at five-thirty."

He nods his head as she scoots out of the booth. "Yes, I do." He pauses under her friendly gaze. "I missed you too Rory."

----

"Where are we Tristan?"

"My house."

"I thought we were going out for dinner."

"I never said where." He pulled the keys out of the ignition. "I usually love to cook for company."

She laughed. "You look a lot like someone who could burn microwave popcorn."

"Don't underestimate me Rory."

"What are we eating?"

"You'll have to wait and see."

----

"Macaroni and cheese?"

"Bon a' petite."

"I could live off this stuff."

"I actually do."

"I was expecting caviar or something gross like that."

"Inexpensive meals taste better." He took a seat next to her and smiled.

"I never asked you what you do for a living Tristan."

"I am, unfortunately, head of my families business. I didn't really have a choice in the matter. My father past away the year I graduated from college of a massive heart arrack. Being the only son and heir to the DuGrey fortune and business, I had no choice but to accept my 'destiny.' After he died I promised myself that I would always make my life and family more important than the business. The last thing I would ever want is to become my father."

She gripped his hand. "I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. My mom took it pretty hard, but for me it was just a release from his verbal abuse."

"Why aren't you married?"

"Never found the right person I guess." He noticed her hand was still gripping his. "I never got over someone." He stared into her eyes unblinkingly.

Suddenly her hand was no longer over his, but shyly tracing a path over his jaw. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch as her fingers moved across his cheek.

And then it was gone.

He opened his eyes.

"Guess I got a little carried away." She whispered. "Sorry."

They had both been startled by the electrical shock between them.

"Tristan the first time I saw you I thought, 'wow, what a stuck up rich boy.' But then I got to know you a little bit better, I found that that was just your exterior- the show you put on. I grew to like you. When you left Chilton and never contacted me I gave it up. I figured it wasn't worth it.

"I saw you in the shop today and it all came back to me."

"I know how you feel." He stood from his chair and moved closer to her, rested a hand on the back of her neck and bent to kiss her.

It was sweet and short, but it was enough to get his point across. Rory wrapped her arms around his waist, pulling him closer.

He smiled against her lips. "I'm glad you came to dinner Rory." He ran a hand through her hair and groaned and kissed the side of her mouth. "But I need to know something. Would you go to a movie with me tomorrow?"

"Sure. But it has to be a good one." She laughed.

"I want to take this slow."  
"Alright." She released her hold on him and smiled shyly.

"Good" he walked back into the kitchen. "Do you want some more mac' and cheese?"

"Sure."

----

A/N: I know, this is really short. But I promise you, the next chapter will be longer, hopefully. Let me know if you like it please!

-over and out-


	2. Chapter 2

A Difficult Ending

Chapter 2: Dating

A/N: I thought I'd let you all know that I really do appreciate all the positive reviews on all my stories! Without them there wouldn't be much of anything in my account. So thank you very much!

---

(_Think 'My Big Fat__ Greek Wedding')_

"Thanks for taking me to that movie Tristan."

"You're welcome." He leaned

Towards her "Can I have a kiss goodnight?"

She nods.

"He kisses her lightly on the corner of her mouth before pulling away. "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Yeah all day."

"Ill be here at one then." He watched her get out of the car and when she was about half way to her door he pulled away from the curb.

---

_(Two__ week later)_

His strong mouth covered hers his tongue stroked her lips probing gently between them. She tasted the candy they had been eating earlier. His hands moved down the small of her back.

Suddenly he pulled away "I'll call you tomorrow."

She was breathing hard as he removed his himself from her side of the car; she let her arms fallaway from his shoulders.

"Why did you stop?"

"I have to have some kind of control over myself." He gripped the steering wheel his knuckled turning white.

She touched his shoulder lightly. "Come over tomorrow?""I can't say no to you."

"Be here at about five then." She traced a finger along his jaw before stepping out of the car, leaving him to himself and his thoughts.

---

She wanted to make Tristan relax, loosen up his self-control; she wanted to know the Real Tristan. The one that wasn't afraid to dare himself.

There was a knock at the door and she ran to answer it. "Hi," she moved out of the door and gestured inside. "get in here and out of the cold."

She watched him study her apartment before finally looking at her. He seemed to stair at her for what felt like forever and she self-consciously pulled on her shirt.

He was the first to break the silence. "It looks nice in here. This is exactly what I pictured your home to look like."

"Come on, I'll give you a tour." She took his hand and led him around her small apartment before making him sit on the couch. "We are going to play twenty or so questions."

He leaned back in the couch and folded his hands in his lap. "If you want to, then sure."

She turned to face him on the couch, her back to the armrest and her feat crossed underneath her. "You can go first if you like."

"You first."

She thought for a moment before speaking. " Why did you stop kissing me yesterday?"

He sighed, "I didn't want to scare you away." He paused. "Theoretically, if I were to ask you to marry me would you say yes?"

Her eyes widened at this but she answered, "Probably yes. I really feel like there is something between us I've never felt before. And it's a good something." She smiled. "How many girls have you dated since high school, not including me?"

His jaw ticked. "I haven't dated anyone."

"I don't believe you."

"I'll swear on the bible if you want me to." He ran a hand through his hair before looking back into her eyes. "I'll throw your question right back at you."

"Two. Jess and I dated for about a year and then I dated a guy named Logan in college. He asked me to marry him, and to go with him to his new job in another state." She paused to remember. "I said no. I wasn't ready to get married let alone leave my home. I haven't dated anyone since."

"I guess I'm lucky you said no."

"Yeah." She moved a stray strand of hair out of her face then asked her next question. "My next question is would you kiss me?"

"If you'd like." He leaned towards her but she stopped him.

"There is more to my question." She blushed. "Would you kiss me until I said to stop and no sooner?"

He faltered for a moment before speaking. "Sure." He pulled her closer to him until he was practically laying on top of her, his hands in her hair, he kissed her gently at first but she wouldn't have that.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, her tongue dueling with his.

He leaned his body into hers and she heard a low primal growl emerge from his throat.

She felt his hands move from her hair to her neck and she stopped to breathe.

He moved to pull away.

"I didn't say to stop." She breathed.

The look in his eyes was smoldering and she couldn't help but gasp.

"I can't do this."

"But you agreed." She whispered. "You're never going to lose me Tristan, I wouldn't leave unless you wanted me to." She played with his hair, "I regret that I was so oblivious to your feelings in high school."

"I know. It's just that, now that I have you I feel like I need to be careful, that if I make one wrong move I'll never see you again." He pulled all the way away from her and looked at the black television screen.

"Oh cut the bull Tris." She sat up herself and moved closer to him. "Look at me."

He did. "I know it's a little early to be saying this but I love you and I'm sick of not being able to make-out with you because your scared."

He blinked at her. "Is this our first fight?" he smirked.

"I'm being serious here."

He could tell she was, there was anger flashing in her eyes. "I know." He gripped her hand. "You said you love me."

"So?"

"I love you too." He looked down at their twined hands, "Maybe that was something I needed to here."

She smiled. "That was a really stupid first fight."

"It was mostly one sided too." He prodded her in the side with his elbow.

"Shush up and kiss me."

"Desperate?"

"No."

His grin grew wider and he puckered his lips at her. "I think you are."

"Alright, fine." She smiled then too. "I admit it okay."

"Yeah," he leaned in to kiss her but stopped short. "I love you Rory." It was a whisper of breath against her lips and she couldn't help but remove that bit of distance between them.

---

"Rory, what's going on? I haven't heard from you in ages. What if I had died or something?"

"Mom, you're not old."

"Well, I could have died from loss of daughter or something and you wouldn't have known. What's going on over there?"

Rory smiled to herself. "I ran into someone from high school."

"That's all you're going to tell me? I need more information."

"Do you remember Tristan?"

"UM yeah! That's the bible boy slash Brad Pitt slash tormentor you used to rant about. You hated him."

"I know. But now I'm kind of da-"

"You're dating him!" OH – MY – GOD!" Lorelai was practically screeching into the phone at this point. "For how long? I have to meet him again!"

"About two months now." Rory laughed.

"Is he still really hot? Because some people that were hot in high school get _r__eally_ ugly when they get older."

"I guess you will just have to wait and see. I invited him to the towns' Christmas festival."

"You picked a great year. "Taylor went all out on everything…seriously. He even managed to get Luke to decorate his store. With a little help from me aka 'the wifey'"

"Alright, I kind of have to finish this article so I will talk to you when I get over there. And yes, Tristan will be in tow."

"He's there isn't he."

"No, I won't see him until tomorrow."

"You are such a liar. I'll go easy on him though and say goodbye. "

"Bye mom." She turned off her phone and smiled up at Tristan. "I feel sorry for you."

He laughed.

"You are going to be the talk of the town when we get there." She ran a hand through his hair before sitting down at her desk. "But I was kind of serious when I told her that I have work to do." She flicked on the computer and looked up at him. "You can help yourself to my house and I will be done in maybe less than an hour. Promise."

"Alright. I'll leave you to it."

She watched his muscled back as he wandered away from her and into the kitchen, a slight smile on her face, before turning to the computer screen.

It seemed only moments later that she heard a crash in the kitchen. And it wasn't your ordinary crash either. It was the sound of a body crashing to the floor.

"Tristan?" she felt the adrenaline kick in.

Something was wrong.

"Tristan!" she bolted from the desk chair and ran to the kitchen.

----

A/N: I love leaving you guys to suffer. It's kind of fun. Let me know what you think!

Loves lots.

-Over and out-


	3. Chapter 3

A Difficult Ending

Chapter 3: Some News

A/N: no it wasn't a heart attack (lol)…Thanks for the reviews though guys…there're great.

---

"Tristan!" she immediately grabbed her phone from the counter and dialed 911. "Oh god…Tris." She could barely breathe.

"Hello?" someone had answered on the third ring.

"Yes, this is 911 the emergency line."

"My boyfriend just passed out I think. I tried getting him to wake up but he won't."

"Could you describe what happened and when."

"He stood up from the couch saying he wanted something from the kitchen and when he turned the corner I heard him fall to the floor, and since I couldn't wake him I called. It's been about ten minutes."

"Alright. I've alerted the ambulance, they should be there soon. If you would like I could stay on the line with you until they arrive."

"Um, no thanks." She hung up the phone and stared at Tristans' chest to make sure that he was still breathing. She had never dealt with something like this before. Everything was spinning, as if she herself were going to pass out. She couldn't seem to remember how to breathe. What if something was terribly wrong with him?

She could hear the sirens and quickly gathered up her phone and her purse before opening the door for the two men that would soon arrive.

Tristan was still motionless on the floor but for the steady rising of his chest.

---

"Mom, I'm sitting in the waiting room at the hospital." Rory was seconds from crying.

"What's going on?"

"Tristan passed out or something in the kitchen and he wouldn't wake up."

"I'm coming over there."

"You don't have to."

"I want to."

"But you need to be at the inn."

"I think they can handle it without me today."

She could hear her moms' keys jingle as she grabbed them from the table.

"I'll be there in about 20 minutes. I Love you, call me if you find out anything."

"Alright." Rory snapped her phone closed and curled up in the chair, the tears were unavoidable.

The waiting room was empty and hardly any doctors were wandering around. She didn't get any news until about 2 hours after they had arrived in the ambulance.

"We had to do an MRI and a CT scan." The doctor was still standing. "He woke up just after we were finishing up." He smiled at her but it quickly disappeared. "If you would like to come with me back to his room I can give you both the news."

"I'll stay out here Rory." Lorelai said.

"Is it good or bad?"

"Most likely bad." He said

Lorelai squeezed her hand. "Go on."

Rory followed the doctor down the hall and into Tristans room.

Tristan smiled at her and held out a hand. She pulled up a chair and quickly grasped it.

"We have good news and bad." He Placed the x-ray images of Tristans Brain on the light board and after a moment circled a black spot with his finger. "Right there." He stated "in the cerebrum," he circled a wide area in the grey matter. "Your tumor is basically in-between your right ear and your forehead and if we do not surgically remove it, it will eventually grow into your motor cortex, and the side-effects of this are pretty self explanatory." The doctor turned around to look at them. "The good news about this whole thing is that we will most likely be able to remove the whole thing. If it is in fact cancerous you will have to go into radiation or chemotherapy to keep it from returning."

Rory had started to cry again, she was too afraid to look at Tristan.

"I'll give you two a moment to talk about this." He paused for a moment, looking between the two of them. "I really am sorry to be the bearer of this news." He exited the room and closed the door silently behind himself.

"I could have found out so much earlier. I was having headaches a lot on that side of my head, really bad ones. But I didn't think anything of it, I took ibuprofen and they went away."

"It isn't your fault."

"Rory, I'm scared."

"So am I Tris," she finally looked at him and realized that he was crying too. "But we'll pull through this."

He gripped her hand harder. "I might have cancer…." this fact was spoken more to himself, he just couldn't get it through his mind.

---

They had made the decision to have the surgery the next day and about eleven hours later the surgery was over and he was in recovery.

Dr. Stevenson came out into the waiting room, a worried look on his face. He took a seat beside Rory before speaking. "We couldn't remove all of it." He was whispering. "There were so many vital nerves in the way, we couldn't take the risk."

Rory was silent.

"We sent the mass out to the lab. We should know in a day at the most." He was studying her closely. "Are you two married?"

"No, but we have been dating for a while now."

"When he is awake I want to tell him about this. I think you should be there. He loves you, I can see it all over his face." He patted her hand. "You can go in if you want." He gestured towards the hallway leading to Tristans' room.

"Alright." She watched as the doctor walked back into the offices and then flipped open her phone. "Mom?"

---

She finally went to find Tristan. He was lying in bed; his head wrapped up.

He smiled weakly at her. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Shouldn't I be the one asking you that?" she blinked back the tears, she needed to keep them at bay and took a deep breath. "That was a long surgery."

"I'm numb is what I am." He laughed weakly. "The nurse told me the doc would be in soon. Said he had something to tell me."

"I know." She smiled weakly.

"What is it?"

She opened her mouth to tell him but the doctor beat her to it.

"We could not fully remove the tumor do to several major nerves in the way. But if it is not cancerous it will most likely not grow in any more. We can't be sure though."

Tristans smile fell away, Rory could see the tears glistening in his eyes.

"Tris…." She immediately went to him. "I won't say that everything will turn out wonderful but I can say there is hope in there. I love you, and I will not leave your side in this mess I promise." She kissed his lips gently, "I love you way too much for that."

He wouldn't look at her, but she could still see everything in his eyes, a lot of what she found was anger and shock."I would like to be left alone for a while Rory. I need to and think."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. I'll send someone after you when I'm ready." He removed his hand from hers and looked away.

He didn't move his eyes until both the doctor and Rory had left the room.

It was only then that he let himself cry.

---

He knew that he could die from this whole thing. That he would not have long to live if it was in fact cancer.

He also knew that Rory was the only person that would be with him through all of it too. His mother and father had passed away and his sister had moved halfway around the world to get away from him. They had gotten into a terrible fight and haven't talked since the year before.

He needed Rory even though he did not want her hurt anymore. He didn't want her to have to go through this.

Tristan wiped his eyes and pressed the call button attached to his bed.

---

A/N: Just in case you weren't sure what all those terms meant the definitions are below (I learned all this stuff in psychology so I am 100 positive that it is correct.)

CT Scan: computerized tomography- uses a computer to construct an image of the brain by combining thousands of separate x-rays taken at different angles.

MRI: Magnetic resonance imaging- provides a detailed, three-dimensional computer generated image of brain structures and activity by aiming a powerful magnetic field at the body.

Cerebrum: forebrain- controls the movement and memories.

Motor Cortex: (part of cerebrum) Rear portion of the frontal lobe- Plans/executes movement.


End file.
